


you make it shine

by softjace (hhwgv)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Blind Date, F/F, First Date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 12:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7532863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hhwgv/pseuds/softjace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maureen checked the watch on her wrist; she was supposed to leave for her date in less than an hour and she wasn’t anywhere near ready. Simon had set her up with her childhood best friend, Clary, and they were supposed to be meeting for dinner at 6:30. She wasn’t sure exactly what Simon had told Clary – the friends who set her up on blind dates had a tendency to leave out the fact that she had a nine-year-old daughter, which usually led to an awkward conversation at some point during the date, and meant that there probably wouldn’t be a second.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you make it shine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [driedflowers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/driedflowers/gifts).



> written for [this prompt](http://pineapplebooks.livejournal.com/1040.html?thread=1040#t1040) for the Shadowhunters femslash fic exchange! thanks to [Sarah](http://gayclaryfray.tumblr.com/) for beta'ing it for me (through [shadowhuntersbetas](http://shadowhuntersbetas.tumblr.com/))!!
> 
> title is from the Years & Years song _Shine_.

Maureen checked the watch on her wrist; she was supposed to leave for her date in less than an hour and she wasn’t anywhere near ready. Simon had set her up with her childhood best friend, Clary, and they were supposed to be meeting for dinner at 6:30. She wasn’t sure exactly what Simon had told Clary – the friends who set her up on blind dates had a tendency to leave out the fact that she had a nine-year-old daughter, which usually led to an awkward conversation at some point during the date, and meant that there probably wouldn’t be a second.

 

She was pulled from her thoughts when her daughter, Audrey, bounded into the room and jumped up onto the bed. “Mommy, can you watch Little Mermaid with me?” she asked, her legs swinging over the edge of the bed.

 

“I can’t right now, sweetie,” Maureen replied, putting the finishing touches on her makeup. “Mommy has a date, remember? Uncle Simon will be here soon, maybe he’ll watch it with you.”

 

“Okay,” Audrey said quietly. “When is Uncle Si going to be here?”

 

“He should be here soon,” Maureen said, double-checking her watch. She strode over to the closet and pulled out the dress she was planning on wearing – simple and black, modest but not too modest.

 

“You’re wearing that?” Audrey asked as she laid the dress down on the bed.

 

“Yes,” Maureen answered, “why?”

 

Audrey hopped off of the bed and walked into the closet. She pulled at a bright pink dress. “You should wear this instead,” she decided and Maureen couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“Why that one?”

 

“Because it’s prettier,” Audrey said simply. That was one good thing about nine-year-olds, they weren’t afraid to tell the truth. “Please, Mommy?”

 

“Alright,” Maureen grinned as the doorbell rang. Audrey always won. “Why don’t you go-” Before Maureen had even suggested she go answer the door, Audrey was gone. Maureen closed the bedroom door and quickly changed into the dress that her daughter had chosen.

 

When she got into the living room, she was unsurprised to see that Simon had made himself comfortable. “Woah, Maureen,” he said, looking up when she walked into the room. “You look great!”

 

“Thanks, Simon. Can I talk to you for a moment before I leave?” she said, motioning him into the kitchen.

 

“Yeah, sure.” He followed her out of the room.

 

“Did you tell Clary about Audrey?” Maureen asked in a hushed voice.

 

“Yeah, I did,” Simon answered. “Is that a problem? Clary loves kids, it’s not a big deal.”

 

“No, it’s good,” Maureen insisted. “I was hoping that you did.” They walked back into the living room. “Okay, I’m off,” she said, a grin on her face. “Don’t eat too much sugar before bed!” She laughed as she headed out the door.

 

“I make no promises,” Simon replied sarcastically. Audrey giggled as Maureen closed the door behind her.

  
  


The restaurant was warm and dimly-lit and Maureen could feel nerves bubbling up in her stomach as she walked through the door. She hadn’t been on a date in a while and she wasn’t sure how it would go. As the hostess led her to the table, she was happy that she’d chosen to wear flats instead of heels.

 

Clary was already sitting at the table when Maureen got there – she was more beautiful than Maureen had anticipated. Her hair hung in loose, open curls and she was wearing a navy blue dress. She smiled brightly at Maureen as she sat down and Maureen could already feel her heart fluttering.

 

Their conversation was stilted and awkward at first – neither one really knew what to say. After the waiter had taken their order, though, conversation started to flow a lot more easily. Work was always a safe place to start. “So, what do you do?” was one of the questions Maureen always asked on the first date. Usually she got boring answers like accountant or retail manager, but she was more than a little intrigued when she found out that Clary was an author.

 

“Anything that I’ve read?” Maureen asked, very interested.

 

“Uh, probably not,” Clary answered. “I mostly write children’s books.” She shrugged.

 

“Well, I do have a nine-year-old daughter who loves to read,” Maureen replied with a smile. “There’s a chance she’s read your books.”

 

“Well, I don’t put my name on them. I go by a pseudonym. C.A. Fairchild,” Clary admitted. “Fairchild was my grandparents’ last name and I thought it would be better not to use my real name.”

 

“C.A. Fairchild?” Maureen repeated. “You write those supernatural adventure stories, right?”

 

“Yeah.” Clary laughed. “I guess you could call them that.”

 

“Audrey loves you and your books,” Maureen said excitedly. “Sometimes I read them aloud to her before bed, although I don’t know how she sleeps afterwards,” she joked. “They’re really good. The illustrations are really cool, do you do those, too?”

 

“Thanks,” Clary said, and Maureen would do anything to keep her smiling like that.

 

The rest of the dinner went smoothly; there were no awkward silences or lulls in conversation. Maureen learned more about what Simon had been like when he was younger and that he talked about Audrey almost constantly – Simon really liked that there was someone who called him  _ Uncle Si _ , according to Clary.

 

After they’d finished their meal, they weren’t quite ready to say goodbye, so they went for a walk around the block. The night air was cool and crisp and it felt refreshing against Maureen’s skin. She knew that she should get home and relieve Simon, but Audrey was probably asleep by now and that meant he was probably just watching TV on the couch. Maureen checked her watch, and it was already past ten. “I should probably go home.” It almost pained her to say it.

 

“Right,” Clary nodded, “you have a kid to get back to.”

 

“And Simon’s babysitting, so…” Maureen said awkwardly as they walked towards her car. “Maybe we can do this again some time,” she suggested.

 

“Yeah, definitely.” Clary grinned. “I’ll text you tomorrow morning.”

 

“Okay, sounds good,” Maureen replied. They stood there for a moment staring at each other, neither one of them quite sure what to say.

 

Before Maureen was knew what was happening, Clary’s lips were pressed against hers. They were sweet and soft and it was one of the best kisses Maureen had ever had. Clary pulled away, her lips were still touching Maureen’s when she murmured, “I’ll text you,” before sauntering off.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! please leave a comment/kudos if you enjoyed!


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